Published

‘Once Upon A Time’ Season 4 Episode 14 Recap: “Unforgiven”

Secrets and lies ran rampant throughout this week’s episode of Once Upon A Time.

David (Josh Dallas) and Mary-Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) are keeping a devastating secret from Emma (Jennifer Morrison). It’s one they believe will tear apart the tenuous bonds of trust they have built with Emma. Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) also holds a secret that he is guarding from Emma. And who is surrounding all these secrets? Well, it seems to be Cruella De Vil (Victoria Smurfit), Ursula (Merrin Dungey) and Maleficent (Kristin Bauer van Straten).

Mary-Margaret and David aren’t buying Cruella and Ursula’s claim that they’ve come to Storybrooke for redemption. This is a pretty good assumption since the duo is working with Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) to bring Maleficent back from the dead. They distract Belle (Emilie de Ravin) in the pawn shop to grab an item to do that very thing.

Meanwhile, in the flashback portion of the episode, we see an uneasy alliance form between Cruella, Ursula and Maleficent with Snow and Charming to stop Regina (Lana Parrilla) from unleashing the dark curse. They travel to the Tree of Knowledge, which is supposed to give them information on what to do.

When Snow and Charming try to touch the tree, they are thrown back from it. Surprised because they are heroes and only heroes with a valiant heart can use the tree’s magic, Maleficent informs them Snow is with child and her child’s destiny to either become a hero or a villain is unknown.

Back in Storybrooke, although David tries to thwart them, Ursula and Cruella unleash Maleficent with the help of Mr. Gold. And things even more dire for David and Mary-Margaret as they labor over whether to tell Emma about their dark secret.

As for Regina, she’s still pursuing the author of the storybook. She even asks Pinocchio (Jakob Davies), hoping he can remember how he added pages to the book when he was the grown version of himself, August. Regina is frustrated to learn he doesn’t remember anything.

Emma decides to trust Hook. It’s her monologue about learning to trust people that stops David and Mary-Margaret from telling her their secret.

So, what is their secret? While Snow was pregnant with Emma, they learned she may have a proclivity for darkness. So, in some way, they protected their unborn child by making Maleficent lose her child. Mary-Margaret tells Regina this dark secret in hopes she will go undercover and find out what the three female villains are up to.

As the episode closes, Mr. Gold, still shrouded in darkness and hiding in Storybrooke, spies on Belle. What he sees in the window is a dagger to his dark heart. Standing beside Belle is Will Scarlet (Michael Socha) and they share an intimate embrace.

What dark happenings await the citizens of Storybrooke that will turn some back to villainy and others to it for the first time? Let me know what you think in the comments!